Midnight Swim [pg13]

[Iƪƪia]

The chattering behind her tore Illia out of her trance-like state. Oh, right, there had been other students here. She turned around, still treading water in the center of the lake. Clearly, they hadn't been expecting her either. Both of them had backed away from the water, terrified and one even lost control of her skin. So she was a dragon... And it seemed like the other one was a chimera, but she couldn't be sure.

Not wanting these two to be afraid of her, Illia slowly made her way toward the land. Climbing out of the water, Illia smiled a feline grin at both of them.

"Hi, there," She said happily.

She decided it would be best to replace her skin. That way she wouldn't seem as threatening.

"Look, I'm not a bad person... Just a normal student like you two," She continued smiling as she turned to the lake, "Just fancied a midnight swim is all."

Her smile dropped as curiosity shaped her features.

"Say... Have either of you seen that cavern down yonder?" She asked, pointing toward the cliff face on the far side of the lake.

[Elle]

Elle watched the chimera worriedly. Then something strange happened. It smiled. As it put it's skin back on, Elle relaxed a bit, though not enough to replace her own skin. The chimera said something about a cavern? Elle wasn't sure if she should answer or just run back to her dorm and pretend like this had never happened. But... The chimera did seem nice.

"Um... I don't know," She said quietly, "I haven't been here that long... And this-this is my fisrt visit to the lake."

[yuki]

"Cavern?"

Arabella was curious. She loved exploring and it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go find one. It would take her mind off of everything stressful and her work at school. And on the other hand, she did need some excitement around here.

Ara spoke to the other chimera. "That sounds interesting. Are you gonna explore it?" she asked.

[Iƪƪia]

The thought of exploring the cavern put a broad smile on Illia's face. She was always up for scouting out new territory... And there was always the possibility that she would find some sort of treasure. Well whatever was down there, Illia had to know. She was curious now and she had to sate that curiosity. She turned around, still grinning happily.

"Of course I am!" Then she looked toward the dragon, "You wanna come too?"

Without waiting for a response, she removed her skin again and dove into the lake. Her four legs propelled her toward the back wall and both of her heads balanced themselves above the water.

[Elle]

She slowly edged toward the water. Elle was both curious and afraid of what might be in that cavern. Not to mention their guide... Just who was she anyway. She looked down at the water and lightly rested a claw on top of it.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked the silver chimera, "What if it-it's dangerous?"

[yuki]

"I think it's an awesome idea!" Arabella went to follow the other chimera but turned back to Elle.

"We could use your help. You said it's dangerous. Well, with all three of us, we can face anything! Come on! It will be fun!" She dove into the moonlit lake and felt the refreshing burst of the cold water.

Arabella transformed into her true form. She then began to follow Illia to head toward the secret caverns.

[Iƪƪia]

"I'm sure we'll be safe, just trust me... Oh, by the way, my name's Illia."

With those words Illia dove down into the depths of the lake. Once near the bottom, she looked through the lake's foliage at the cavern set in the far back of the lake. She continued on into the cave, looking at it's walls curiously. It looked like this place wasn't natural... It looked like it had been carved out. She sped up her pace, as she needed to know what lied at the end of the tunnel.

[Elle]

Elle watched the other two dive under the water and she hurriedly followed suit. Well, Illia did seem trustworthy. Besides, Elle was becoming increasingly curious about this secret cavern. She followed Illia into the cave, looking around eagerly with a mix of excitement and fear.

[yuki]

As she swam through the tunnel, Arabella looked over at Illia. She couldn't help but wonder what she was going to be doing in the caverns. Maybe just to explore? Or maybe there was a treasure or something?
But Ara didn't know much about the school grounds. She was eager to learn about everything the school had to offer, even if there was a place forbidden to students.

She looked behind her at Elle who was catching up fast and hoped that the caverns were close. She looked ahead, anxious.

[Iƪƪia]

The light had faded as they went further in the cavern until finally, it was pitch black. Illia's feline eyes were still able to watch the path in front of them, although it wasn't really necessary. The cave was quite linear. She looked at the ground curiously. There was no sign of life. Not even any plants dotted the rout. Perhaps it was the lack of sunlight?

Something shimmering in the distance caught the chimera's attention. It appeared to be a simple group of rocks, however, the rocks were shining. That meant light, which meant an exit.
Illia sped up even further toward the strange glow.

[Elle]

Elle nodded, still looking around nervously. She wasn't claustraphobic, but she still didn't like staying in enclosed spaces for very long. She caught up with the other girls and began wondering how long this tunnel was. It seemed to stretch on forever and Elle didn't like it. Then she noticed some sort of weirl light up ahead. Illia had almost made it there by now and she struggled to catch up.

[yuki]

Ara's green eyes caught the attention of the lights before her at the end of the tunnel. She wondered if it was the exit. As she swam ahead of the two girls, she realized that the sparkling light was silver rocks. Pure silver rocks. They were reflecting light off of the moon, which could be seen through a crack in the ceiling of the cave.

She gestured to Illia and Elle to come closer; they were farther behind.

Arabella took her attention off of the silver and looked around for an exit. Oh, no. A dead end. It looked like the cavern stopped at this point. The three of them couldn't go any further.

[Iƪƪia]

Illia quickly caught up with Ara. She investigated the sparkling rocks as well as the moonlight shining down on them. She then turned her attention toward the back of the cavern. Then the left wall. Then the right. Nothing. The tunnel stopped here. She scratched at the back wall, frustrated.

It was then a soft, booming noise arose to her ears. It was quiet, barely audible at first, but then it got louder and louder. The sound continued to grow until it was right on top of them; the noise almost painful; shock waves rippling through the water. It sounded as if there was a floor right above this cave, and a monster was pounding on it. It pounded again. Then again. Three times until finally, it accomplished it's task. Part of the cavern's ceiling collapsed in front of them, blocking the exit. The sound was gone by then, and it was only the three of them, now trapped in the cave.

[Elle]

Elle swam quickly to the collapsed tunnel. She attempted to push the stones out of the way, using all her strength, but the pressure was just too great. She looked wildly around the small cavern, imagining the walls closing in on them. Then she realized, this was worse than she thought. She spun around and looked at the other two. It didn't look like either of them had gills. They were in trouble.

[yuki]

When Arabella saw the tunnel collapse, she started to panic. If there was no way out, Illia and her would die down here in the dark waters of the lake. Then there was that feeling of desperation in Ara's gut. Her eyes widened and she tried to control herself and remain calm. Even though she was part tiger and could hold her breathe for a long time, she didn't know how long that would be until she started to drown.

Ara looked over at Elle. Her eyes gave the warning: Help